Chapter 52
Elena's POV
The snow was falling harder now, thick flakes swirling in the dim light of the garden lamps. I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, but the cold spreading through my body had nothing to do with temperature.
"Scarlett has never had a problem with you being around," he finally said, voice cold and measured. "That night you didn't come home, she even worried about you."
"Last time I picked you up from campus," Damon continued, "Scarlett was in the car. You said you didn't want to be in the same space with someone unfamiliar and chose to get out."
I clenched my fists.
"Or is it because of what I said about you at the restaurant yesterday that made you think everything is her fault?"
"No," I said, teeth chattering. "Whether you believe me or not, I didn't pull away from her hand."
"Then why did she tell me you yanked your hand back when she grabbed it?"
"I don't know!" The words exploded out of me, harsh and desperate. "Maybe she got confused. Maybe she's lying. I don't know, Damon, but I didn't—" My voice broke. "You've known me for over twenty years. You should know I wouldn't—"
"Should I?" He cut me off, something cold in his expression that made my stomach sink. "Honestly, Elena, I'm not sure I know you anymore."
The ground beneath my feet seemed to tilt. "What?"
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You think I haven't noticed? How you've been acting this past month?" He started counting on his fingers. "You got drunk at a bar and spent the night with a strange man. You suddenly got close to Caleb. You pick fights with me for no reason, questioning everything I do."
Each word landed like a slap. My vision blurred with tears I refused to let fall.
"I barely recognize you anymore," Damon said quietly. "Maybe you were never the girl I thought you were."
Something inside me snapped.
"You think I'm the one who changed?" The words burst out of me. Tears I'd been holding back for too long finally broke free. "You want to talk about who changed? Did you ever think about my feelings when you were using me?"
Damon's expression shifted—surprise, maybe confusion. But I couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop.
"All my life, you've treated me like a tool. A shield," I said, my voice breaking but pushing through. "You needed cover with your family? I was there. You wanted to sneak around with other girls? I was your excuse. You needed someone to lie for you at the enforcement station? I showed up in a blizzard."
"Elena—"
"When you need me, I have to appear. When you don't, I'm nothing. Air." I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. "You parade Scarlett around, then drag me to this resort and expect me to what—smile and be friendly? Pretend I'm happy being your permanent backup?"
"That's not—" He stepped toward me but I backed away.
"I'm not a person to you, Damon. I'm a function. A placeholder." The tears kept coming and I didn't bother wiping them away anymore. "You've never asked what I want. What I feel. Because it doesn't matter, does it? As long as I fulfill my role."
For the first time in this entire conversation, Damon looked genuinely shaken.
But instead of anger, his face went calm. Eerily calm.
"I brought you here because I thought you'd enjoy it," he said quietly. "I promised we'd come to this resort together."
The shift in his tone made everything worse. Made me feel like I was the one being unreasonable. The one causing problems.
Maybe I am. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I'm the crazy one—
"Tell me the truth, Damon. Is there anything I could say right now that would make you believe me over her?"
Silence.
"That's what I thought," I whispered.
The wind howled. Snow fell harder—soft at first, then heavier.
He'd already chosen.
"Give me the room key," I said.
He frowned. "Why?"
"My things. I need to get my things."
---
We walked back to the main building in silence. The hallway lights were too bright after the darkness outside. Damon walked ahead. I followed at a distance.
When we reached the suite, he unlocked the door and stepped aside.
I didn't look at him. Just went straight to my room and started packing. Changed out of the ski clothes. Pulled on my thick coat. Folded everything mechanically—shirts, socks, toiletries.
In the bathroom, I washed my face. My eyes were red and swollen in the mirror. I looked wrecked.
Good. That's honest at least.
From the living room, I heard Damon on the phone.
"Scarlett? Yeah, they got the private nurse arranged... I'm coming over now."
My hands paused on the zipper of my toiletry bag, then moved faster.
When I walked out with my suitcase, Damon was standing by the window, phone to his ear, back to me.
I didn't say goodbye.
Just pressed the elevator button and left.
---
Outside, the temperature had dropped even further. The sky was full dark now, just the glow of street lamps and the distant lights of the resort.
I dragged my suitcase down the main road. The wheels caught in the snow every few feet. My breath came out in white clouds.
There were almost no people out. A few cars passed, headlights cutting through the swirling snow.
I walked, and cried, and didn't know where I was going.
My tears froze on my cheeks.
Then—headlights. Approaching from ahead. Too bright. I held up a hand to shield my eyes.
The car slowed as it passed me.
Then stopped.
Reverse lights.
It backed up until it was right beside me.
The driver's window rolled down. Warm air rushed out.
Through my blurred vision, I could only make out the silhouette. A man.
Then I heard his voice.
"Get in the car, Elena."
Caleb.
My chest constricted. Everything I'd been holding together for the past hour crashed down in that moment.
"Caleb..." His name came out broken. Desperate.
He was out of the car in seconds. Opened the back, took my suitcase, loaded it in.
Then he opened the passenger door and looked at me.
His eyes were dark. Unreadable. But his voice had gone softer.
"It's freezing out here. Come on."
I stumbled forward. He steadied me with one hand on my elbow, guided me into the warmth of the car.
The door closed. He walked around to the driver's side.
When he got in, he didn't ask questions.
Just turned up the heat, put the car in drive, and headed back toward the city.